Emergency Services Levy Collections and Allocations

In 2019-20, the Emergency Services Levy (ESL) raised $378 million from ratepayers, $4 million from local government owned properties and $25 million from the State Government and non-trading State enterprises.

The ESL raised in 2019-20 was $14 million more than the amount expended primarily due to delayed disbursement of ESL funded grants and delays to projects as a result of COVID-19. These funds are planned to be spent during the 2020-21 financial year. Figures have been rounded to the nearest million and include an allocation of indirect expenditure of $28 million on a weighted average basis.

The money collected provides facilities, equipment and resources, protective clothing, uniforms, vehicles and training for WA’s fire and emergency services personnel, both career and volunteer across the State.

The ESL also supports specialist activities across the State such as fire investigations, building inspections, emergency planning and community safety programs.

Our major services and activities

The ESL raised in 2019-20 has been used to fund the major services and activities shown below.

Table 1: Major services and activities funded through the ESL

$129 million

Career Fire and Rescue Service

Employed personnel in fire stations across Perth, Albany, Bunbury, Geraldton and Kalgoorlie who are response ready for a variety of emergency situations, 24/7.

$16 million

Volunteer Fire and Rescue/ Fire and Emergency Services

The committed volunteers in towns and built-up areas who provide an emergency response when it is needed most.

$32 million

Bush Fire Service

The dedicated volunteers who protect us from bushfires through fire suppression, prevention and risk management services and fire safety education in rural and pastoral areas.

$9 million

State Emergency Services

The steadfast volunteers in orange who provide help to the community in a variety of situations such as severe weather and search and rescue operations.

$7 million

Marine Rescues WA Groups

The devoted volunteers along our coastline who protect and save lives at sea.

$15 million

Rural Fire Division

Improving rural fire management through increased investment in mitigation, strengthening relationships with volunteers, and greater collaboration between agencies.

$30 million

Emergency Services Training

Providing professional development for volunteers and career personnel to enhance their operational and organisational skills.

$15 million

Aerial Firefighting and Aviation Services

Operation and coordination of the aerial fleet that is deployed rapidly to emergency incidents, protecting lives and property during the bushfire season.

$60 million

Asset Construction and Maintenance

Includes construction of fire stations and other facilities as well as maintenance, improvement and replacement of facilities, response vehicles and equipment.

$3 million

Volunteer Engagement

Working with communities and local governments to strengthen relationships with our volunteers.

$9 million

Emergency Management, Strategy and Planning

Research and planning activities to improve our services and inform decisions on how we allocate our resources.

$4 million

Health and Wellness

Enhancing psychological and physical wellbeing for emergency services employees, volunteers and their families.

$5 million

Investigation and Compliance

Determining the cause of fires and ensuring compliance with relevant standards to reduce the frequency and impact of emergency incidents.

$12 million

Emergency Response Coordination

Includes the running of emergency operations centres and the ‘000’ communications centre to dispatch and coordinate emergency responses.

$29 million

Technology and Communications

Improving and maintaining the technology and communications infrastructure behind all our emergency services.

$5 million

Special Operations

Upskilling personnel and maintaining specialist equipment to enhance our emergency response across a range of events such as hazardous material spills and building collapse.

$12 million

Community Awareness and Education

Providing information and programs to communities to increase awareness and build a more resilient and safer State.

[1] ESL raised in 2019-20 was $14 million more than the amount expended primarily due to delayed disbursement of ESL funded grants and delays to projects as a result of COVID-19. These funds are planned to be spent during the 2020-21 financial year. Figures have been rounded to the nearest million and include an allocation of indirect expenditure of $28 million on a weighted average basis.

Grants

A summary of the ESL monies collected for direct distribution in the form of operating and capital grants is reflected below. Further information on all grant expenditure is available in note 2.2 of the Financial Statements.

	Operating $’000	Capital $’000	Total $’000
Local Government Grant Scheme – Bush Fire Service¹	10,470	13,281	23,751
Local Government Grant Scheme – State Emergency Services¹	2,393	1,878	4,271
Community Emergency Services Managers	2,306	-	2,306
Marine Rescue WA	2,331	2,609	4,939
Grants to volunteer entities	896	-	896
Grants to volunteer representative bodies	601	-	601
Private brigades	200	-	200
Bushfire Risk Management Planning	1,315	-	1,315
Mitigation	5,372	-	5,372
ChemCentre Hazardous Materials Emergency Response	1,500	-	1,500
Other	265	-	265
	27,649	17,767	45,417

¹ A further $0.454 million of Local Government Grant Scheme funding was allocated towards DFES managed SES and Bush Fire Brigades. A detailed breakdown of grant allocations approved to local governments for Bush Fire Brigades and the State Emergency Service can be found on our website at www.dfes.wa.gov.au.